The station signed on the air on April 25, 1954,[2] carrying programming from all four networks, though it has always been a primary CBS affiliate. It took the CBS affiliation from WROM-TV (channel 9, now WTVC). It lost NBC to WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV) in 1956, and lost ABC to WTVC (the former WROM) in 1958. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.[3]
WDEF logo used from 2005, when the station was owned by Media General, until November 2015, when the station re-branded as "News 12 Now".
Roy H. Park bought WDEF-TV in 1963 as well as WDEF 1370 AM (now WXCT) and WDEF-FM 92.3.[4] His media interests eventually became known as Park Communications, which was bought by Media General in 1997.
[edit]WDEF-TV (channel 12) television station headquarters on Broad Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Jan 17, 2015
This section is missing information about WDEF's news department. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(August 2023)
In its early years, WDEF was locally-oriented, offering a mix of children's shows, talk and variety programs, including Point of View, one of the longest–running local public affairs programs in the United States.[6]
WDEF-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 47 to VHF channel 12 for post-transition operations. Immediately before the shutdown, anchor Joe Legge gave a brief retrospective of the station's history as well as the farewell message for all analog viewers. The message ended with images of the past newscasts.[8][9][10][11]
(*) – indicates station is in one of Tennessee's primary TV markets (**) – indicates station is in an out-of-state TV market, but reaches a small portion of Tennessee
(*) – indicates station is in one of Georgia's primary TV markets (**) – indicates station is in an out-of-state TV market, but reaches a small portion of Georgia
